1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a continuous casting machine and, more particularly, to a structure which is disposed just beneath the mold of the continuous casting machine for supporting and cooling hot metal coming down from the mold.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A supporting structure of the prior art, which is disposed just beneath the mold of a continuous casting machine, has the construction in which a backing frame has its inner wall lined with a wall plate. This wall plate is formed with openings, through which nozzles for spraying cooling water face the skin of hot metal from the side of the backing frame. Moreover, the metal drawn from the mold of the continuous casting machine is supported by the whole inner surface of the wall plate excepting those openings. As a result, there arise two problems, i.e., accumulation of scale within the openings and insufficient cooling of the continuous wall plate. Specifically, the scale, which may be peeled or scraped off the skin of the metal, accumulates within the openings to clog the spray nozzles so that the metal cannot be uniformly cooled down. This causes surface flows such as fissures. The second problem of the insufficient cooling arises because the wall plate contacting the metal over a large surface area is adversely affected by the heat which is transferred from the hot metal. Then, this wall plate is frequently thermally deformed or fissured. As a result, the distance between the opposing wall plates changes so that the upper portion of the wall plate in the vicinity of the mold located at the top is offset from the lower portion of the same guided by guide rollers located at the bottom. This gives rise to the resistance of the metal to the draw and may lead to a serious failure such as metal breakout.